Policy

‘Failure is good’In a talk to promote his new book, MIT’s Simon Johnson lambastes a finance industry he sees as lacking a healthy fear of losing money.

Explained: Radiative forcingWhen there’s more energy radiating down on the planet than there is radiating back out to space, something’s going to have to heat up

A silver lining to the Copenhagen cloud?Though widely seen as a failure, December’s climate conference may actually have set the world on the right path, panelists suggest

Congressman Markey visits Plasma Science and Fusion CenterLawmaker observes experiments under way at campus facility

Carl Kaysen, MIT professor emeritus and national security expert, dies at age 89As an adviser under President Kennedy, he helped negotiate a key nuclear test ban treaty.

The recession hits scienceMIT report reveals biotechnology funding troubles

MIT goes to CopenhagenDelegation of MIT professors, students and alumni attend historic global warming conference to present research and report on event

3 Questions: Henry Jacoby on CopenhagenThe co-director of MIT’s Global Change program discusses what to expect from the U.N. Climate Change Conference, and the effects of ‘Climategate’

“Diagnosing” the U.S. health care system: in Soundings MagazineThe U.S. health system has been ranked second in the world in expenditures — and 38th in the world for performance. What's going on?

Race, Politics and American MediaJuan Williams and J. Phillip Thompson discuss how the collapse of print and other traditional news and the rise of celebrity culture have contributed to the sharp decline of in-depth stories involving race and society.

Energy, behavior, and climate: Many answers, no miraclesBP CEO Tony Hayward Discusses the Harsh Realities at MITEI Colloquium

The politics of climate fixesJudith Layzer says there’s no easy way out when it comes to climate change — but that geo-engineering might be a last-ditch solution.

3 Questions: Sergey Paltsev on the costs of climate-change legislationMIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change has pegged the annual cost of the proposed cap-and-trade legislation in Congress at $400 per U.S. household. But estimating the cost of doing nothing is far more difficult.

Will Innovation Still be Made in America?

Energy researchers find Obama an eager studentIn the President's visit to MIT labs he showed keen interest, quick understanding and warm appreciation, say his hosts

Renewable fuels may have hidden costs, study saysNew analysis shows that without proper regulation, biofuels programs aimed at curbing greenhouse gases could do just the opposite

Letter to the community regarding President Barack Obama's visitPresident will deliver address on America's leadership on clean energy

Saving laborPolitical scientist Richard Locke says our system of improving factory conditions around the world is broken.
He proposes a new solution.

How to limit risk of climate catastropheComprehensive analysis of the odds of climate outcomes under different policy scenarios shows significant benefits from early actions.